According to one of the individuals involved, Bartolomeu José, who lives in the province of Huambo, was invited by a friend to look for the bottle of mercury, buried with his grandfather, in Cuanza Sul.
"I'm here, because the other invited us and we went to invade an older man's grave. His grandson invited us, saying that his grandfather was buried with five liters of mercury, which he wanted to take to live with my family ( ...) because we are in need of money, we got there and found nothing ", said Bartolomeu José, speaking to public radio.
Mercury is a valuable product in the country, used in the artisanal exploration of ore to treat gold and silver.
In addition to digging up corpses and bones, individuals reportedly vandalized cavities where the skulls of great local sovereigns rest, some of which were caught in the act and handed over to the police.
The matter is being analyzed, in addition to the police, also at the level of the traditional authorities, who expressed concern about the situation and its consequences, one of which is the lack of rain.
Speaking to the public broadcaster, the chief of staff of the municipality of Seles, Miguel Matias Filipe, said that they are working with the accused to "show where they are depositing the skulls, for what purpose, what is the objective".
"Because we are seeing that this practice is penalizing a lot of people, it cuts off the rain. When the bodies are exposed, there is no rain," he said.
